Maybe Mick Jagger can't get no satisfaction, but that's not likely to be the case for music fans checking out the new Rolling Stones concert film "Shine a Light" -- as long as they're not looking for too much light to be shined on Mick and the boys' careers, anyway.

If they want an in-depth look at the bad boys of rock -- an actual, honest-to-goodness documentary -- well, they're out of luck. "Shine a Light," directed by Oscar-winning director Martin Scorsese, is more concert film than rock doc, focusing nearly all of its 2-hour-2-minute running time on a 2006 performance by the Stones at Manhattan's Beacon Theatre.

What little archival footage Scorsese uses only serves as between-song filler, and even then it offers nothing particularly illuminating about the Stones' remarkable four-decades-and-still-going-strong career.

Granted, after listening to 46 years of concerts and 46 years of interviews, real Stones fans probably already know pretty much all there is to know about the band. But Jagger and his mates -- Keith Richards, Ron Wood and Charlie Watts -- are such characters, such good interviews, that they surely could have added something more if given the chance.

Instead, Scorsese's film is more of a snapshot as the Stones are now, or at least as they were on that single night at the Beacon a little more than a year ago.

There's nothing really wrong with that. Aside from an amusing and entertaining behind-the-scenes opening segment that precedes the concert footage, "Shine a Light" is only rock 'n' roll -- but I like it. And that's because nobody quite puts on a show like the Rolling Stones do.

PARAMOUNT CLASSICSLouisiana-born bluesman Buddy Guy rocks with Keith Richards in one of the more memorable scenes from 'Shine a Light.'

SHINE A LIGHT

3 stars

Summary: The Rolling Stones rock Manhattan's Beacon Theatre in a concert film directed by Martin Scorsese.

What works: The. Stones. Rock.

What doesn't: The film shines little light on the men behind the music.

With Scorsese's skillful direction -- and keep in mind, aside from films like "Goodfellas" and "The Departed," he's worked on an impressive list of music films, dating back to his assistant director credit on 1970s cinematic time capsule "Woodstock" -- "Shine a Light" gets viewers as up-close and personal with a rock band as is conceivably possible.

Jagger, of course, does his characteristic and energetic strut throughout, using those moves that only he or a barnyard rooster could pull off. He's a touch businesslike on the first couple of numbers -- "Jumpin' Jack Flash" and "Shattered" -- but as he warms up, the show heats up.

By the time the show's special guests come out to join him, Jagger really comes alive. Jack White of the White Stripes brings his mischievous eyes and goth complexion to "Loving Cup." Christina Aguilera brings her full voice and full figure to "Live With Me." And in a gem of a number that is easily one of the film's high points, Louisiana-born blues god Buddy Guy brings his contagious smile and polka-dot guitar to "Champagne and Reefer."

All the while, we're close enough to see the sweat beads on the foreheads of the band, close enough to see the lines on their faces -- those many, many lines -- and close enough even to see Jagger do that odd Mr. Ed thing on "As Tears Go By."

No, there's no reefer smoke wafting through the multiplex. No crowded beer stands or T-shirt stalls. No all-night campout at the St. Bernard Civic Center just to get tickets, as was the case for so many folks when the Stones' "Steel Wheels" tour brought them to the Superdome in November 1989. (Likewise, no early-morning fisticuffs between my buddy Curtis and some unknown line crasher, but that's another story.)

But even without those only-in-a-concert-hall experiences, "Shine a Light" and Scorsese's camera get closer to the action than even the folks in the front row at the Dome could hope for.

Really, the only disappointment Stones fans might find in "Shine a Light" is that even though the film was released in the larger-than-life IMAX format, it's only showing on conventional screens in the New Orleans area. A drag, but better than nothing. (Which is, unfortunately, what we got with this year's other big concert picture, "U2 3D." Thanks for nothing, National Geographic Cinema.)

What "Shine a Light" ends up being is a blast, a fun and energetic next-best-thing-to-a-concert experience. And even if it's only on celluloid, with the Stones, it's hard not to be pleased to meet them.